Door lock assembly and door retractor interlock

ABSTRACT

A vehicle body defines an occupant compartment and includes a seat mounted within the compartment and accessible through a side door opening selectively opened and closed by a side door, a belt arrangement with lap and shoulder belts whose first ends are secured adjacent an inboard portion of the seat and whose second ends are respectively received by a door mounted locking retractor and a vehicle body mounted inertia retractor, door and roof rail mounted carriers slidably receiving respective intermediate portions of the lap and shoulder belts, drive mechanisms for moving the carriers between forward and rearward positions in response to an operative condition of the vehicle to move the belts between easy-enter and occupant restraining positions, a door lock assembly mounted on the rear edge of the door and having a latch mechanism movable to a latched position to maintain the door in closed position and a lock mechanism movable to a locked position to prevent movement of the latch mechanism from latched position to unlatched position, a solenoid connected to the lock mechanism by a linkage and actuatable in response to the operative vehicle condition to move the lock mechanism to locked position, and a linkage connecting the solenoid and a locking bar of the locking retractor to move the locking bar to a locked position concomitant with the movement of the lock mechanism to locked position and thereby locking the retractor to prevent extending movement of the lap belt when the vehicle is in the operative condition.

United States Patent [1 1 Keppel et a1.

[ Nov. 6, 1973 DOOR LOCK ASSEMBLY AND DOOR RETRACTOR INTERLOCK [75]Inventors: Charles M. Keppel, Holly; Irwin K.

Weiss, Birmingham, both of Mich.

[73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation,

Detroit, Mich.

[22'] Filed: June 25, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 156,808

3,593,816 7/1971 Kazaoka 180/113 3,506,083 4/1970 Botnick et al.180/82.8 2,858,144 10/1958 Oppenheim.... 280/150 SB 3,022,089 2/1962Botar 280/150 SB 3,219,361 11/1965 Brown 180/111 X 3,549,203 12/1970Rawson... 280/150 SB X 2,825,581 3/1958 Knight 280/150 SB PrimaryExaminerKenneth l-l. Betts Assistant Examiner-John P. SilverstrimAttorney-W. E. Finken et al.

[57] ABSTRACT with lap and shoulder belts whose first ends are securedadjacent an inboard portion of the seat and whose second ends arerespectively received by a door mounted locking retractor and a vehiclebody mounted inertia retractor,-door and roof rail mounted carriersslidably receiving respective intermediate portions of the lap andshoulder belts, drive mechanisms for moving the carriers between forwardand rearward positions in response to an operative condition of thevehicle to move the belts between easy-enter and occupant restrainingpositions, a door lock assembly mounted on the rear edge of the door andhaving a latch mechanism movable to a latched position to maintain thedoor in closed position and a lock mechanism movable to a lockedposition to prevent movement of the latch mechanism from latchedposition to unlatched position, a solenoid connected to the lockmechanism by a linkage and actuatable in response to the operativevehicle condition to move the lock mechanism to locked position, and alinkage connecting the solenoid and a locking bar of the lockingretractor to move the locking bar to a locked position concomitant withthe movement of the lock mechanism tolocked position and thereby lockingthe retractor to prevent extending movement of the lap belt when thevehicle is in the operative condition.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED HEY 6 I973 sum 10f 2lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIIIMMI2a PH NGE AX l S 5G? a w C MiNVENTOR?6 BY Irwin 1i. Wass kiv i v ATTORNEY PAIENTEmmv 61973 SHEET 2 0F 2INVENTORS Char/es MJfe pel, 6 BY Irwin [UZZJSS ATTORNEY DOOR LOCKASSEMBLY AND DOOR RETRACTOR INTERLOCK This invention relates to aninterlock for a vehicle body door lock assembly and a door mountedoccupant restraining belt locking retractor.

It is conventional for a vehicle body door to support a lock assemblyhaving a latch mechanism and a lock mechanism, with the latch mechanismbeing selectively moved to a latched position to maintain the door in aclosed position, and with the lock mechanism being selectively moved toa locked position to prevent unlatching of the latch mechanism and theconsequent possibility of door opening movement. It is also conventionalto provide a power operated mechanism, such as a solenoid or a pneumaticmotor, for moving the lock mechanism to locked position in response toan operative vehicle condition, such as vehicle ignition or ignition andthe subsequent placement of the transmission selector lever in a drivingposition, etc. It is also known to provide a vehicle body door mountedoccupant restraining belt locking retractor including a solenoid andspring biased armature arm for locking the retractor in response to anoperative vehicle condition to prevent belt movement in both retractingand extending directions. Likewise, it is known to provide the doormounted locking retractor with a member that overlies a portion of thevehicle body to limit door opening movement when the retractor is lockedand the vehicle is in the operative condition.

This invention utilizes a power operated mechanism responsive to anoperative vehicle condition and an interlock for concomitantly lockingthe lock mechanism of a vehicle body door lock assembly and a doormounted belt locking retractor to prevent door opening movement and beltextending movement.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the power operatedmechanism and interlock are used with a vehicle body having a beltarrangement in which door mounted and roof rail mounted carriersslidably receive intermediate portions of lap and shoulder belts andmove forwardly and rearwardly in response to an operative vehiclecondition to move the belts between easy-enter and occupant restrainingpositions. Linkages connect the power operated mechanism to the lockmechanism of the door lock assembly mounted on the vehicle body doorassociated with the belt arrangement and also connect the power operatedmechanism to the locking bar of a locking retractor mounted on the doorand receiving the outboard end of the lap belt. Concomitant with theplacement of the vehicle in the lock assembly and a door mounted beltlocking retractor to prevent door opening movement and belt extendingmovement.

Another object of this invention is to utilize such a power operatedmechanism and interlock with a belt arrangement having a belt with oneend received by the locking retractor and with an intermediate portionslidably received by a carrier that is moved forwardly and rearwardly inresponse to the operative vehicle condition to move the belt arrangementbetween easy-enter and occupant restraining positions.

These objects and other objects of this invention will be readilyapparent from the following detailed description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a portion of a vehicle that includes a poweroperated mechanism responsive to an operative vehicle condition and aninterlock for concomitantly locking the lock mechanism of a door lockassembly and a door mounted locking retractor receiving one end of a lapbeltof an occupant restraining belt arrangement, with certain vehiclebody outer panels broken away to show a drive mechanism for moving acarrier that slidably receives an intermediate portion of the lap beltand moves the lap belt between easy-enter and occupant restrainingpositions in response to the operative vehicle condition;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the vehicle bodytaken generally along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing a cable and vehiclebody and door mounted cable guides of the drive mechanism;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the vehicle body door takenalong line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and showing opposed track members for mountinga slide that supports the carrier associated with the lap belt;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the door mounted lockingretractor and a lower portion of'a link controlling movement of alocking bar of the retractor;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the interior of the vehicleshowing the belt arrangement in an occupant restraining position withrespect to a phantom line indicated seated occupant, as when the vehicleis in the operative condition; and

operative condition and the initial rearward movement of the carriersand movement of the belts toward the restraining positions, the poweroperated mechanism is actuated and through the linkages locks the lockmechanism of the door lock assembly and also locks the FIG. 6 is a viewof a portion of the vehicle with the door in open position and the beltarrangement in an windshield 14 and roof 16. The forward end of a sidedoor 18 is conventionally pivotally mounted on the body 12 to supportthe door for movement between open and closed positions with respect toa side door opening 20, allowing occupant access to an occupantcompartment generally indicated by 22. Referring additionally now toFIGS. 5 and 6, an occupant restraining belt arrangement generallyindicated by 24 includes lap and shoulder belts 26 and 28 having theirfirst ends fixedly secured to a bracket 30 mounted on the vehicletransmission tunnel 32 inboard of a bucket type seat 34. As best seen inFIG. 5, the lap belt 26 extends in a generally lateral direction acrossthe lap of a phantom line indicated seated occupant 36 and has anintermediate portion slidably received by an apertured carrier -38movable along door 18 as will be described. The other end of lap belt 26is received by a locking retractor 40 suitably mounted on a lowerrearward portion of door 18, as best seen in FIG. 6. ln a similarmanner, the shoulder belt 28 extends across the chest of occupant 36 andthrough an apertured carrier 42 slidably mounted along the roof rail ofroof 16 as will be described. From carrier 42, shoulder belt 28 extendsrearwardly and over body mounted rollers 44 and 46 to a conventionalinertia retractor 48 mounted on the rear wheel well 50 of vehicle body12.

As more clearly seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, carrier 38 slidably receives belt26 in an elongated aperture 52 adjacent an inner trim panel 54 of door18. Trim panel 54 includes an elongated slot 56 extending between upperforward and lower rearward portions of door 18, see

FIGS. I and 5. A shank portion 58 of a slide 60 is re- 7 ceived withinslot 56 and attached to carrier 38 by screws 62. The slide 60 includesoppositely extending ears 64 slidably received within a pair of opposedtrack members 66 suitably mounted within door 18 and extending parallelto slot 56, FIG. 1.

As best seen in FIG. 1, a cable 68 of a drive mechanism 70 is attachedto the opposite ends of slide 60 and is guidingly received by doormounted upper and lower pulleys 72 and 74 adjacent the opposite ends oftrack members 66. From the upper pulley 72, cable 68 extends downwardlyand is guidingly received by a bodily movable pulley76 pivoted to a link78 of a spring and turnbuckle arrangement 80 that maintains apredetermined tension in cable 68. As best seen in FIG. 2, from pulley76, cable 68 extends forwardly through a door mounted guide 82 adjacentthe door hinge axis and forwardly through a body mounted guide 84. Sincethe distance between the opposed free ends of guides 82 and 84 isrelatively short and since the guides are positioned relatively close tothe door hinge axis, the effective length of cable 68 will vary onlyslightly during swinging movement of door 18 between open and closedpositions. Consequently, the spring of arrangement 80 is capable ofexpanding and contracting to move link 78 and the attached pulley 76 toadjustably maintain the required tension in cable 68. As seen in FIG. 1,cable 68 extends forwardly from. guide 84 to a body mounted pulley 86,upwardly through a lower aperture 88in a housing 90, andiswound around adriving pulley 92. The other end of ,cable 68 attached to slide 60 isguided by the lower pulley 74 adjacent the lower ends of track members66 and extends forwardly through door and body mounted guides 94 and 96positioned in a similar manner with respect to the door hinge axis asare guides 82 and 84. From guide 96, cable 68 extends forwardly to abody mounted pulley 98, upwardly through aperture 88 in housing 90, andis wound around driving pulley 92 Driving pulley 92 also includes aportion about which is wound another cable, not shown, guided bysuitable guides and pulleys, not shown, in a manner similar to cable 68.The ends of this cable are connected to a slide attached to carrier 42.

and supported by roof rail mounted track members, similar to trackmembers 66, for movement between the forward and rearward ends of a slot100 in the head-liner 102 of roof 16, FIG. 5.

Driving pulley 92 is connected to a suitable electric motor, not shown,whose terminals are connected across a source of power in a circuit. Thecircuit is responsive to an operative vehicle condition, such asignition or ignition and placement of the transmission selector leverina driving position, etc., to actuate the motor in one direction androtate driving pulley 92 in the direction of arrow A. Since each of thewound portions of the cables has a point suitably secured to drivingpulley 92, this rotation winds respective portions of the cables andunwinds other respective portions of the cables, the net effect being tomove the carriers 38 and 42 rearwardly to the FIG. 5 positions. As thecarriers move rearwardly, the normal retracting bias of retractors 40and 48 maintains the belts 26 and 28 in a taut condition as the beltsslide through the carriers. A suitable limit switch, not shown, isactuated by slide 60 of carrier 38 when the carriers reach the FIG. 5rearward positions where the belts have assumed the occupant restrainingpositions shown, without requiring any deliberate effort on the part ofthe occupant. The actuation of this limit switch stops the motor andrearward movement of the carriers and the occupant 36 is thus passivelyrestrained while nevertheless free to lean for ward at a controlledrate, less than that which will lock inertia retractor 48, to operatethe vehicle controls, etc.

When the vehicle ceases to be in the operative condition, the circuitactuates the motor in the opposite direction to rotate driving pulley 92in the direction of arrow B. Since locking retractor 40 is thenunlocked; as will be described, and since this rotation moves thecarriers 38 and 42 forwardly at a rate less than that which will lockinertia retractor 48, the carriers move to the FIG. 6 forward positionsand the belts 26 and 28 are moved to the easy-enter positions. With thebelts in these positions, the occupant is allowed convenient egressionfrom and access to the occupant compartment 22 and seat 34. I

The movement of the carriers 38 and 42 between the forward and rearwardpositions and the sliding movement of belts 26 and 28 through thecarriers during movement between the easy-enter and occupant restrainingpositions is similar to the carrier and belt movement disclosed by theUS. Pat. of Kep'pel et al. 3,680,883 which is assigned to the assigneeof the present invention.

A door lock assembly generally indicated by 104 is mounted-on the rearportion of door 18, FIG. 1, and includes a latch mechanism, not shown indetail, movable between latched and unlatched positions with respect toa body mounted keeper, not shown, to selectively maintain the door 18 inthe FIG. 1 closed position. Door lock assembly 104 is similar to doorlock assemblies used on current production vehicles and as such will notbe described in detail. The latch mechanism of lock assembly 104 may bemoved fromthe latched position to the unlatched position, to open door18, by depression of an outside push button 106 adjacent the rear end ofan outside door handle I08, and may alternately be moved to theunlatched position by an inside remote handle 110 connected to the latchmechanism by a generally longitudinally extending link 112. Lockassembly 104 also includes a lock mechanism, not shown in detail,selectively movable from an unlocked position to a locked position toconventionally prevent movement of the latch mechanism from latchedposition to unlatched position by actuation of button 106 or handle 110and to thus maintain the door 18 in closed position. From outside thevehicle 10, the lock mechanism of lock assembly 104 is controlled bylocking and unlocking of a key cylinder 114 in a conventional manner.From within the vehicle 10, the lock mechanism may be controlled byconventional upward and downward movement of a garnish button 116. Ascan be seen in FIG. 1, garnish button 116 is supported on the upper endof a control link 118 including an intermediate bight portion 120. Thelower end of link 118 is pivoted to a somewhat L-shaped link 122 pivotedto the door at 124. The upward and downward movement of the garnishbutton 116 thus selectively pivots the link 122 to move a locking bar125 of the lock mechanism by way of a link 126 and thus controlsmovement of the lock mechanism between the locked and unlockedpositions.

A solenoid 128 is suitably mounted within the door 18 and includes anarmature arm 130 whose upper end is pivoted to the bight portion 120 oflink 1 18. Solenoid 128 is connected in the circuit that controls themotor rotating driving pulley 92. When the vehicle is placed in theoperative condition previously described, the solenoid 128 is actuatedand armature arm 130 is moved downwardly to rotate link 122 about 124.The rotation of link 122 through link 126 thus moves locking bar 125 andthe lock mechanism of lock assembly 104 is thus moved to locked positionin the same manner as by manual downward depression of garnish button116. The lock mechanism of lock assembly 104 is thus conventionallylocked when vehicle is placed in the operative condition withoutrequiring any deliberate effort on the part of the occupant. When thevehicle is taken out of the operative condition, the circuit deactivatessolenoid 128 whose armature arm 130 is then moved upwardly by a springbias to move the lock mechanism of lock assembly 104 to unlockedposition.

A linkage generally indicated in FIG. 1 by 132 includes a link 134 withone end pivoted to the door 18 at 136, slightly to the rear of the lowerend of garnish button 116. The other end of link 134 includes a suitableslot that receives a laterally extending pin or extension 138 on link118 justslightly above the bight portion 120. Linkage 132 also includesa link 140 whose upper end is pivoted to the intermediate portion oflink 134 at 142 and which extends downwardly and slightly rearwardlyfrom link 134 to the locking retractor 40. As seen in FIG. 4, the lowerend of link 140 includes integral oppositely extending lateral ears 144and a threaded end for receiving a suitable nut 146 having a roundedupper surface. Intermediate ears 144 and nut 146, the lower end of link140 extends through an aperture 148 in the flattened end 150 of alocking bar extension 152. Extension 152 is supported by the upper endof a locking bar 154 whose opposite ends are received in like apertures156 in flanges 158 of the retractor housing 160. The locking bar 154 isthus rotat- I able about an axis A in opposite directions as indicatedby arrows C and D. When the locking bar 154 is rotated in the directionof arrow C, a locking edge, not shown, of the locking bar moves intoengagement with teeth 162 of a roller rotatably mounted between flanges158 and receiving lap belt 26. This engagement locks the roller toprevent extending movement of lap belt 26. It will be noted that link140 assumes a generally skewed orientation with respect to axis A.Consequently, upon actuation of solenoid 128 or manual depression of thegarnish button 116 and the resultant downward pivoting movement of link134 anddownward bodily shifting movement of link 140, the ears 144engage the upper side of flattened end 150 and rotate the locking bar154 in the direction of arrow C to lock the retractor 40 and preventextending movement of lap belt 26.

Conversely, upon unlocking of the lock mechanism by either the garnishbutton 116 or the spring bias of armature arm 130, the link 140 isbodily shifted upwardly and the curved upper surface of nut 146 engagesthe lower side of flattened end 150 to rotate the locking bar 154 in thedirection of arrow D. This rotation moves the locking edge of thelocking bar out of engagement with teeth 162 and allows lap belt 26 tobe extended from retractor 40. Since the spring bias of the armature arm130 unlocks the lock mechanism of lock assembly 104 when the vehicleceases to be in the operative condition, the retractor 40 will thus beconcomitantly unlocked to. allow extending movement of lap belt 26 fromretractor 40 as the carriers 38 and 42 begin to move forwardly to movethe belts 26 and 28 to the easy-enter positions, as previouslydescribed.

It can thus be seen that when an occupant enters the vehicle, the lapand shoulder belts 26 and 28 will be p0- sitioned in the FIG. 6easy-enter positions and will allow convenient occupant access to theseat 34. When erative condition, the drive mechanisms will move thecarriers 38 and 42 rearwardly to the positions shown in FIG. 5 while theretractors 40 and 48 retract the belts which are thus moved to theoccupant restraining positions. Concomitant with the initialrearwardmovement of the carriers, the solenoid 128 will be actuated tolock the lock mechanism of the door lock assembly 104 and will also, byway of linkage 132, lock the locking retractor 40 against extendingmovement of the lap belt 26. The solenoid 128 .thus concomitantly locksboth the lock mechanism of the door lock assembly and the door mountedlocking retractor 40.

The invention thus provides a power operated mechanism and an improvedinterlock for concommitantly locking a vehicle body door lock assemblyand a door mounted belt locking retractor in response to an operativevehicle condition to prevent door opening movement and belt extendingmovement.

What is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle body defining an occupant compartment, the combinationcomprising, a seat mounted within the occupant compartment andaccessible through a vehicle body side door opening, a door forselectively opening and closing the door opening, latch means mounted onthe door and selectively movable between latched and unlatched positionswith respect to a vehicle body mounted keeper to selectivelymaintain'the door in closed position, inside and outside door mountedlatch release means for selectively moving the latch means from latchedposition to unlatched position to allow movement of the door from closedposition to open position, locking means selectively movable betweenlocked and unlocked positions to selectively prevent movement of thelatch means from latched position to unlatched position, inside andoutside door mounted lock control means for controlling the, position ofthe locking means, a solenoid for moving the locking means to lockedposition in response to an operative condition of the vehicle, a lockingretractor mounted on the door and including a locking bar movablebetween locked and unlocked positions to selectively lock and unlock theretractor against belt extending movement, a belt having one endreceived by the retractor, means for securing the other end of the beltadjacent an inboard portion of the seat to dispose the belt across aseated occupant in a restraining position when the door is in closedposition, and interlocking linkage means connecting the solenoid and thelocking bar to move the locking bar to locked position concomitant withthe movement of the locking means to locked position and therebymaintaining the belt in the restraining position against extendingmovement when the vehicle is in the operative condition.

2. In a vehicle body defining an occupant compartment, the combinationcomprising, a seat mounted within the occupant compartment andaccessible through a vehicle body side door opening, a door forselectively opening and closing the door opening, latch means mounted onthe door and selectively movable between latched and unlatched positionswith respect to a vehicle body mounted keeper to selectively maintainthe door in closed position, inside and outside door mountedlatchrelease means for selectively moving the latch means from latchedposition to unlatched position to allow movement of the door from closedposition to open position, locking means selectively movable betweenlocked and unlocked positions to selectively prevent movement of thelatch means from latched position to unlatched position, inside andoutside door mounted lock control means for controlling the position ofthe locking means, a solenoid for moving the locking means to lockedposition in response to an operative condition of the vehicle, a lockingretractor mounted on the door and including a locking bar movablebetween locked and unlocked positions to selectively lock and unlock theretractor against belt extending movement, a lap belt having one endreceived by the retractor, means for securing the other end of the beltadjacent an inboard portion of the seat, means responsive to theoperative condition of the vehicle and connected to the belt to move thebelt forwardly to an easy-enter position upon cessation of the operativecondition of the vehicle and to allow the retractor to move the beltrearwardly to a restraining position when the vehicle is placed in theoperative condition with the door in closed position, and interlockinglinkage means connecting the solenoid and the locking bar to move thelocking bar to locked position concomitant with the movement of thelocking means'to locked position and thereby locking the retractor tomaintain the belt in the restraining position against extending movementwhen the vehicle is in the operative condition, the solenoid unlockingthe locking means and the retractor when the vehicle ceases to be in theoperative condition to allow opening movement of the door and extendingmovement of the belt to the easy-enter position.

3. In a vehicle body defining an occupant compartment, the combinationcomprising, a seat mounted within the occupant compartment andaccessible through a vehicle body side door opening, a door forselectively opening and closing the door opening, latch means mounted onthe door and selectively movable between latched and unlatched positionswith respect to a vehicle body mounted keeper to selectively maintainthe door in closed position, inside and outside door mounted latchrelease means for selectively moving the latch means from latchedposition to unlatched position to allow movement of the door from closedposition to open position, locking means selectively movable betweenlocked and unlocked positions to selectively prevent movement of thelatch means from latched position to unlatched position, inside andoutside door mounted lock control means for controlling the position ofthe locking means, a solenoid for moving the locking means to lockedposition in response to an operative condition of the vehicle, a lockingretractor mounted on the door and including a locking bar movablebetween locked and unlocked positions to selectively lock and unlock theretractor against belt extending movement, a lap belt having one endreceived by the retractor, means for securing the other end of the beltadjacent an inboard portion of the seat, door mounted means connected toan intermediate portion of the belt to move the belt forwardly to aneasy-enter position upon cessation of the operative condition of thevehicle and to allow the retractor to retract the belt to an occupantrestraining position in response to the operative condition of thevehicle, and interlocking linkage means extending betweenthe solenoidand the locking bar of the retractor to move the locking bar to lockedposition concomitant with the movement of the locking means to lockedposition and thereby locking the retractor to maintain the belt in therestraining position against extending movement when the vehicle is inthe operative condition, the solenoid unlocking the locking means andthe retractor when the vehicle ceases to be in the operative conditionto allow door opening movement and extending movement of the belt to theeasy-enter position.

1. In a vehicle body defining an occupant compartment, the combinationcomprising, a seat mounted within the occupant compartment andaccessible through a vehicle body side door opening, a door forselectively opening and closing the door opening, latch means mounted onthe door and selectively movable between latched and unlatched positionswith respect to a vehicle body mounted keeper to selectively maintainthe door in closed position, inside and outside door mounted latchrelease means for selectively moving the latch means from latchedposition to unlatched position to allow movement of the door from closedposition to open position, locking means selectively movable betweenlocked and unlocked positions to selectively prevent movement of thelatch means from latched position to unlatched position, inside andoutside door mounted lock control means for controlling the position ofthe locking means, a solenoid for moving the locking means to lockedposition in response to an operative condition of the vehicle, a lockingretractor mounted on the door and including a locking bar movablebetween locked and unlocked positions to selectively lock and unlock theretractor against belt extending movement, a belt having one endreceived by the retractor, means for securing the other end of the beltadjacent an inboard portion of the seat to dispose the belt across aseated occupant in a restraining position when the door is in closedposition, and interlocking linkage means connecting the solenoid and thelocking bar to move the locking bar to locked position concomitant withthe movement of the locking means to locked position and therebymaintaining the belt in the restraining position against extendingmovement when the vehicle is in the operative condition.
 2. In a vehiclebody defining an occupant compartment, the combination comprising, aseat mounted within the occupant compartment and accessible through avehicle body side door opening, a door for selectively opening andclosing the door opening, latch means mounted on the door andselectively movable between latched and unlatched positions with respectto a vehicle body mounted keeper to selectively maintain the door inclosed position, inside and outside door mounted latch release means forselectively moving the latch means from latched position to unlatchedposition to allow movement of the door from closed position to openposition, locking means selectively movable between locked and unlockedpositions to selectively prevent movement of the latch means fromlatched position to unlatched position, inside and outside door mountedlock control means for controlling the position of the locking means, asolenoid for moving the locking means to locked position in response toan operative condition of the vehicle, a locking retractor mounted onthe door and including a locking bar movable between locked and unlockedpositions to selectively lock and unlock the retractor against beltextending movement, a lap belt having one end received by the retractor,means for securing the other end of the belt adjacent an inboard portionof the seat, means responsive to the operative condition of the vehicleand connected to the belt to move the belt forwardly to an easy-enterposition upon cessation of the operative condition of the vehicle and toallow the retractor to move the belt rearwardly to a restrainingposition when the vehicle is placed in the operative condition with thedoor in closed position, and interlocking linkage means connecting thesolenoid and the locking bar to move the locking bar to locked positionconcomitant with the movement of the locking means to locked positionand thereby locking the retractor to maintain the belt in therestraining position against extending movement when the vehicle is inthe operative condition, the solenoid unlocking the locking means andthe retractor when the vehicle ceases to be in the operative conditionto allow opening movement of the door and extending movement of the beltto the easy-enter position.
 3. In a vehicle body defining an occupantcompartment, the combination comprising, a seat mounted within theoccupant compartment and accessible through a vehicle body side dooropening, a door for selectively opening and closing the door opening,latch means mounted on the door and selectively movable between latchedand unlatched positions with respect to a vehicle body mounted keeper toselectively maintain the door in closed position, inside and outsidedoor mounted latch release means for selectively moving the latch meansfrom latched position to unlatched position to allow movement of thedoor from closed position to open position, locking means selectivelymovable between locked and unlocked positions to selectively preventmovement of the latch means from latched position to unlatched position,inside and outside door mounted lock control means for controlling theposition of the locking means, a solenoid for moving the locking meansto locked position in response to an operative condition of the vehicle,a locking retractor mounted on the door and including a locking barmovable between locked and unlocked positions to selectively lock andunlock the retractor against belt extending movement, a lap belt havingone end received by the retractor, means for securing the other end ofthe belt adjacent an inboard portion of the seat, door mounted meansconnected to an intermediate portion of the belt to move the beltforwardly to an easy-enter position upon cessation of the operativecondition of the vehicle and to allow the retractor to retract the beltto an occupant restraining position in response to the operativecondition of the vehicle, and interlocking linkage means extendingbetween the solenoid and the locking bar of the retractor to move thelocking bar to locked position concomitant with the movement of thelocking means to locked position and thereby locking the retractor tomaintain the belt in the restraining position against extending movementwhen the vehicle is in the operative condition, the solenoid unlockingthe locking means and the retractor when the vehicle ceases to be in theoperative condition to allow door opening movement and extendIngmovement of the belt to the easy-enter position.